Highlights of Womens Christmas Group in Cancun Pt. 1

One of my favorite moments on the entire trip to Cancun. My roommate Hope has put into words exactly like i would. So i am going to let her tell you our encounter with him.

"This is the story of a blind boy I met in Cancun. For his protection he will be referred to as Jamie in this entry.

Jamie is 17 and has been blind since the day he was born. He is tall with a chubby face and black curly hair. I ran into Jaime on a tour of the orphanage during my first day in Cancun. He was alone in his dorm room talking with Mau a fellow B2B staff member when I first laid eyes on him. The compassion that gripped my heart when I first saw him is hard to describe. All I know is that with one glimpse I felt like I saw into the depths of his pain and sorrow and knew that he was so hurt. I left the dorm room without saying a word to Jamie and began another conversation with two teenage girls right outside the door.

Mau left Jaime’s dorm room just as I was finishing my conversation with Virginia and began to fill me in on the details of Jamie’s life. Jamie had arrived at the home about a week earlier. He had been battered and bruised by his father. His story revealed that he had grown up familiar with such abuse from his dad. His real mom died when he was little and his step mother stepped into the picture. About a week earlier Jamie’s stepmother had too much of him and his needs. She loaded blind Jamie up on a bus, paid a ticket to who knows where, and said she never wanted to see him again. Jamie arrived in the middle of Cancun, hours from his home, knowing no one, and seeing nothing. Government officials picked him up and took him to the children’s home where we met him a few days later.

My heart broke as Mau told me Jamie’s story. Jamie said that he had heard about Mau from the other boys at the home and wondered if Mau would take him out to talk and hang out as he had with the others. He also asked Mau if he would find him some music. “I’m bored,” Jamie commented, “music makes me relax.”

At the end of the conversation Mau felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to give Jamie a hug. As he pulled away Jamie calmly told Mau that that was the first hug he can ever remember receiving. … As Mau told me this story, I cried.

Both Mau and I wept in the courtyard of the children’s home, as God let us feel the pain and hurt in these lives. God began speaking to me that while I cover up my heart and numb it from the pain in this world and the pain that I see in the Rio every week, His heart is never numb. His heart feels every hurt. His heart cries with every child. He feels every pain and it hurts his heart to the core. The compassion of the Lord is amazing. I went to bed that night with these things still on my heart and mind.

Two days later our team of ladies returned to this same children’s home to throw a Christmas party. Part of the festivities included a skit put on by our team. At this particular children’s home we are not able to openly share the gospel, so in a metaphorical way we portrayed Christ conquering evil in the world. At one point in the skit “the evil” was whispering lies in the ear of a child. Things like, “no one loves you,” “you are stupid,” “they are laughing at you.” During this part of the skit Jamie leaned over to a fellow staff member and said, “I’ve heard those things before. I hear those lies every day.” When I heard this I knew that I wanted to pray for Jamie.

After the skit, I sat down next to Jamie with some other ladies from our team and began to talk with him. Another lady also felt the urge to pray so we asked Jamie if we could. He readily agreed. About halfway through our prayer Jamie started grabbing at his chest. “My heart hurts. My heart hurts,” he repeated. We clarified that it was a spiritual pain that he was feeling. We finished praying and I went to find Mau. I knew in my spirit that today was the day of salvation for Jamie. I have never been so sure of something in my life! I found Mau and told him that he needed to explain the gospel to Jamie. Jamie was so ready, but my Spanish couldn’t do it justice and Mau is the one who is going to be there long term with Jamie. After the activities of the Christmas party calmed down a bit, Mau went over and sat next to Jamie. I knew that he was sharing the gospel with Jamie, so I began to pray. The next thing I know Jamie is crying and hugging Mau. He prayed that day and met Jesus as his Savior and the Healer of his heart!

Later, I gave Jamie a hug to welcome him into the family. He told me that when we had prayed earlier he had felt so much peace, but that now he felt so happy. “This is the best day of my life!” said an excited Jamie, “I will never forget this day as long as I live.” I know that I too will never forget this day. Praise Jesus who is able to heal the most hurt of hearts. Nothing is impossible for God! Please continue to keep Jamie in your prayers. Pray for this growth in Christ and for his physical sight to be restored! Amen!" - Hope Maglich




Another great moment....

One morning we prepared gift boxes for the pregnancy center for the DIF. They work with girls between 12-17 years of age. They bring their brand new, days old babies and some workers watch them while the girls either talk with a psychologist or learn a practical new job such as nails or hair.
We brought all these boxes filled with goodies for mommies and babies. We packed a lunch for everyone, practiced skits, and set off for a great day! I had no idea what to expect. But i knew there was going to be some new babies there so i was ready to hold them.
As the mothers started flooding in with their babies, and some with more than one, my eyes were filling up with tears. These girls were so young! 12 years old, 13 years old, 16 years old. They were beautiful, young, and were in such bad situations. My heart continued to break for them. Most of them i am sure had no choice but to get pregnant. As we started asking more questions and i was translating for some of the American Women, i almost couldn't even ask some of the questions. One of the Americans had asked one of the girls if there was a father, her face went to complete shame. In those instances that is when you know these girls need Jesus and they need to know that He loves them and promises to provide for them.
Hope and Priscilla put together a skit about a princess and her King. So before we got started we were taking the babies so the young moms could have some time to concentrate for once. In a little room we had 30 BABIES. i was in heaven. So, of course i stayed in the room with all the babies. I loved holding these precious little ones and praying for them. There is no sweeter moments than those, i think.
Meanwhile, the event starts off with the skit. Apparently, the mothers were all listening and super interested. They loved it. I heard someone say from our American group, that they thought it could have been the first time these young girls were ever told they were a princess and the daughter of a King!
Then they started handing off the boxes to the mothers. each box either had a pink or blue lid. And these American women prepare MONTHS in advance before coming with their gifts and each were assigned to get a pink or blue lid. Some women were beside themselves because they could not find the pink or blue lids that they were assigned. So, they ended up getting the other color. Well, they start handing the boxes out. If the young mom had a daughter they would receive a pink box, and for a boy, they would receive a blue. ( I BET YOU ALL ALREADY FIGURED THAT OUT)!!!! It was getting down to the last moms and wouldn't you know that God completely knew Every boy box and every girl box needed because it was totally like the fishes and loaves miracle!!!! There was the exact amount needed for boys and for girls. The moms got what they needed and were so thrilled. They were able to decorate their boxes really cool with stickers, pens, and fun girly things. While they were decorating we were all praising God and thanking Him for the joy that He created with all those boxes.